Google Places ranking data now provided by gShift Labs to help businesses fine-tune local search rankings

Toronto, ON – April 3, 2012: gShift Labs, the creator of web presence optimization software that is giving marketers and agencies control over their SEO campaigns, announced today new functionality that delivers Google Places SEO rank data to clients, enabling businesses to better understand how they are being found in Google’s local search results.

The new functionality is a response to major changes Google made to its algorithm in March 2012 to improve search results by better detecting when a search query is local to the person performing the search. Google’s free local platform – Google My Business– enables businesses to manage their listing so they can appear in the local search results on the first page of Google if Google determines the business is relevant to a localized search being performed – for instance, “Downtown New York Hotels.” Until now businesses could not easily understand how they rank in Google Places for all the keywords they want to be found for compared to a competitor.

“Ranking in Google Places is vitally important to businesses that sell their products and services to a local market,” says Krista LaRiviere, Cofounder and CEO, gShift Labs. “Since the Google Places listings are positioned before non-local results, it is a massive opportunity for businesses to rank on the first page of Google.”

LaRiviere says Google loves fresh, relevant, optimized content and aided by software such as gShift’s industry leading software, Web Presence Optimizer™ (WPO), businesses can better align their digital footprint with local long-tail keyword phrases that rank highly in Google. They can also gain deep competitive insights into how a competitor is ranking in Google Places.

“Google’s algorithm changes are all about improving relevancy for the searcher,” explains gShift Cofounder and CTO, Chris Adams. “This is a great opportunity to update and optimize your Google Places listing for your organization by arranging for reviews and accurately configuring your address, map and YouTube channel. A poorly optimized Google Places listing could negatively impact your overall SEO ranking.”

About gShift Labs

gShift Labs’ industry leading Web Presence Optimizer™ software system is helping companies across North America achieve top organic ranking in search engines by simplifying and standardizing how a website gets found on the internet. Organizations of all sizes benefit by reducing the time and resources required to analyze and improve organic search optimization. For more information: www.gshiftlabs.com